Defender has had the Lewmar Claw Anchor on sale for awhile at deep discounts.
$18 for an 11lb anchor 15-25ftboat. Also smaller and larger for lunch or bigger boats with similar savings.
Great deal if the claw anchor suites your needs.
http://www.defender.com/defender-marine-clearance.jsp?path=-1|619045&id=1970771
Wrong anchor for me. I would rather have a Danforth and not a Claw anchor.
The Navy can't be all wrong.
skip.
What is a claw anchor good for?
I have been eyeballing it on Defender for a while........pondering.......
Mac
"Wrong anchor for me. I would rather have a Danforth and not a Claw anchor.
The Navy can't be all wrong."
True, but the Navy (and Coast Guard) has the HP to bury the Danforth deep enough to prevent it from pulling out on a tide/wind shift. When that happes they tend not to reset as the chain fouls the flukes. Nave/Coast Guard also always has those on duty for anchor watch.
Very few cruisers use a Danforth type as their primary anchor for this reason. Many have a Fortress (optimized Danforth type) onboard as a storm anchor though.
Shawn
Mac,
Check out:
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f118/
For more threads on anchoring than you would believe. The claw is a copy of the Bruce anchor. I've seen many reports that the copies don't work as well as the original Bruce anchors due to differences in their geometry, also some problems with castings breaking on the cheaper copies. The Bruce is supposed to be a pretty decent anchor in most bottom types (except weeds) and it tends to pivot in place on tide/wind shifts.
From tests 'next generation' anchors have higher holding power per pound though.
Shawn
Mac, claw anchors don't articulate [shank up/shank down] but some claws swing side to side at the end 'business end' of the shank.
For the bottoms I sail over a Danforth has always held my CP-19.
It's light weight welded up from sheet steel [not cast] but has all the surface area for holding power. It's all about spreading out the weight [pull].
I can't remember a 180 wind shift where ever I have anchored so I'm not concerned about going in a circle and fouling the flukes with the anchor chain road.
I have no current to speak of where I park. We did have Danforths on the houseboats in a 4+ knot river current. That is a 7,000+ lb steel boat.
Different bottom = different anchors. I don't really know why a claw anchor is preferred on high dollar vessels...probably just a point-of-purchase selling point.
They look good and don't rattle.
Our 1000 footers use Danforths here in the Great Lakes.
skip.
Hi all, I went with the 11lb lewmar claw for my 16, no moving parts, more than heavy enough, fits well on bow roller. Has held the boat very well. I worry about dragging so its probably oversized.... I use a plastic coated chain rode, then transition to a 150ft anchor rope. Have a danforth for 2nd anchor.
Snowed again yesterday, looking forward to spring!
Jason
Have used a 22 lb Bruce anchor on a C-27 with a couple feet of chain to anchor in the bight of Cape Lookout in 20+ mph of wind and several times with less wind but rafted up. It held anyplace that we used along the outter banks and costal waters except in Swansboro.
I would recommend them.
Still have the anchor, hope to match it back up with a boat sometime.
regards charlie
My CP16 came with a small Danforth with a couple feet of chain, always held in the places I anchored. It even reset one night on a 180 degree wind shift on Superior one night.
My CP23 came with a 22lb claw with 10' or so of chain. It has held in the same mud/sand bottoms that the Danforth did.
I'm sure there are bottom types where certain anchor designs work better, but my limited experience has been that for mud/soft-medium sand, Danforth and claw both seem to work well. I do have a very large Fortress tucked away in a locker as a storm anchor, but haven't tried it out yet.
On both a 35' Sailboat and 36' Trawler, the Bruce (claw type) Anchor was my Primary, with CQR and Delta as Secondaries. And, as Shawn said, I used a Fortress FX23 Aluminum (Danforth type) as a Storm Anchor.
The Bruce served me quite well for thousands of cruising miles, including two trips to the Bahamas, anchoring in all types of bottoms. In all that time only dragged twice while trying to anchor so tried others successfully.
I am a firm believer in the Claw type anchor. Currently use one as primary on my Sun Cat.
capt_nemo
My primary is a homemade (not by me) Danforth type made of stainless steel. Bought it a nautical flea market with 450' poly rope for 5 clams. It has about 8 feet 3/8" chain and 100' 1/2' 3 strand. It has held my 23 in winds up to 30 or so but it doesen't always set the first time. Don't ask me how I came to discover that. I don't know the comparative Danforth size but it seems big for the boat...I'll never give it up. That being said, the bottom where I sail is sand and/or eel grass.
Bob23
A Danforth gets you two 'digs' with the flukes through the sand while a plow get's you one 'dig'?
skip.
Skip,
Once you get the "two digs" from the Danforth they are nortorious for "undigging" on a bold shift of pull (wind), and FAILING to "re-dig" in the new pull direction, often skipping along the bottom. The Claw type "digs" once, but stays "dug" in, rotating beneath the bottom surface to orient the shank in the new direction of pull.
Granted, the Danforth type are good anchors, if used carefully with limitations. HOWEVER, I, along with many other experienced long distance Cruisers, refuse to trust the safety of our boats and crew to an unattended Danforth as Primary.
capt_nemo
Thanks Salty ,ordered a 11lb one today it will look good on the front of my 16 .I have my danforth in the conner of the garage it worked ok but the big problem is where to store it doesnt fit the bow roller if I hang it from the pulpit it gets in the way .At 18$ I had to order other stuff to meet the 25$ minn order ,it wasnt hard to find something . Rob
Salty, thanks for the info. Just also ordered the claw. I'm glad to read that it fits on the 16's bow roller. The price dropped to $15. Shipping cuts into the savings but gas to the nearest marine supply would be more. I always used Danforths because of cost or they came with the boat. I did look for a mud bottom on the charts when planning for an overnight anchorage. That usually wasn't a problem but I'd steer clear of some good places where I thought another anchor was better suited. Phil
Last Friday night the admiral and I tossed the anchor to spend the night in a little cove at a small lake in Central FL. At just about sunset the wind kicked up and we found ourselves on the windward side of the shoreline unexpectedly. Our danforth didn't hold us. We struggled to pull away from the shoreline and couldn't get moving fast enough with no steerage speed - we blew into the reeds (and we had listened to alligators all afternoon croaking in those weeds!) so I jumped in and pushed the boat out. A few very short tacks and we ended up back in the reed bed. Finally, after another physically demanding "launch" we tacked our way out of the mess and broke free.
NOW... I can't say as I can blame the danforth completely as the wind clocked us about 60 degrees. However, that's about my third or fourth experience with a danforth anchor breaking free. I am seriously toying with trying out the claw and just see what happens. I have about 10 feet of chain and lots of three strand on my current rode. I had quite a bit out - I didn't measure it, but we were swinging on a lot of line because it felt like forever to get it all back on the boat. Not sure why it's not working for me. Mucky bottoms on these Central FL lakes - maybe that's why the flukes of the danforth aren't biting enough.
Ted,
I'm not surprised at the Danforth dragging with only 60 degree wind shift in a soft bottom.
One possible explanation for the Danforth dragging in loose mud is the shallow set angle of the flukes on a standard Danforth. As I recall, the Aluminum Fortress Anchors (Danforth type) have ADJUSTABLE fluke angles for just that reason. You can disassemble them and reset the flukes to a greater set angle for soft mud to get them to bury better and deeper. Check them out if you like Danforth types.
That said, I strongly recommend an appropriately sized Claw type anchor with at least a boat length of chain leader on your nylon rode.
Hoping that you NEVER, EVER, drag again!
capt_nemo
" As I recall, the Aluminum Fortress Anchors (Danforth type) have ADJUSTABLE fluke angles for just that reason. "
Fortress has what they call 'Mud Palms' for their anchors. They actually recommend them for all bottoms. They basically just lift the front of the anchor up slightly so that the flukes angle down a little (instead of laying parallel to the bottom) to aid in setting the anchor. The fluke angle when set does not change.
My Raya anchor has two attachment points for the rode. One is meant for mud bottoms as it increase the angle of attack on the anchor to increase holding. I've never needed that though.
Shawn
Anchor talks tend to be like "politics n religion"....Everyone has an opinion. My standard answer is "anchor with the design ya trust.....that way when its blowing 25+ you can sleep"
Sounds like you can't sleep!!!
Try a 22lb delta with 40ft of chain and 7-1 scope!!
Nighty night ;-)
My setup....
On my C27 I have a 25lb danforth but with 75 feet of chain (wish I had bought a 100 feet). It got to be a little to much to haul in so I ended up putting on a windless to handle it, never once have I regretted it. Setup never drags or pulls out. I think all the chain helps immensely. I usually let out all 75 feet of the chain and enough anchor line to allow all of the chain to lay on the bottom. I wish I had bought more chain because the windlass doesn't like the line but loves the chain (line sometimes slips or jams up in the windlass).
Bruce
S/V Allure